A Self-Respecting Stray Cat

On November 2 I was returning to my grandmother’s home late in the evening. It was cold and windy, as it always is late autumn in Khabarovsk, so I was eager to get into somewhere warm. I entered the building, then the elevator and pressed the ninth floor button.

Suddenly, a small, lithe, slender creature snuck into the cabin, right before the doors closed. The animal and I exchanged glances, and I saw this.

Took this later, so no elevator.

Then it proceeded to rub against my legs and one of my bags. It was as tame as it was stray, its big eyes were looking at me, asking for affection and kindness, and I couldn’t keep myself from stroking it.

Alas, the elevator came to the ninth floor, where my grandmother forbade the cat to enter the apartment, and the poor stray had to spend the night alone and hungry.

The next time I saw the kitty was the following morning. It was exploring the green part of our yard: hunting birds, running around, climbing trees like a pro and waiting for affection. A young boy was looking after it. I asked him if anyone had fed the cat, and when he said ‘no’, I decided to get cat food.

The cat was delighted to see me and a pack of Kitekat which quickly disappeared: the stray ate from the pile on the asphalt and licked my fingers and the open brim of the soft pack.

As it was eating, I made up my mind to find an owner and a home for this cat who seemed quite healthy and was devouring cat food as if it had never eaten before. And I’d never seen a more affectionate, friendly and self-assured cat.

And then we had this short, unprofessional, hit or miss photo-shoot.

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The cat was constantly meowing and putting its front paws onto my legs, asking to be let into my lap, and stroked, and scratched, and talked to. Even when I couldn’t squat any longer, it kept meowing, rubbing and looking at me.

I watched it hunt the birds, climb trees and continue exploring the yard, until I had to go. When I came back, there was no cat in the yard, but someone told me that it was in the building, which calmed me down.

Days passed as I tried to find someone who would adopt this cat.

My grandmother tutors Maths to schoolkids, and one of her students talked to a friend of hers who, finally, agreed to take the cat in. They took him to a vet for a check up and neutered him. Now he’s at home, and his owners take him for walks several times per week.